Document #1176643
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
The following information was provided
during a 30 September 1998 telephone interview with the President
of the Assyrian Academic Society of Canada in Toronto.
The president provided information on two
Assyrian Christian political organizations present in the no-fly
zone over northern Iraq. The President pointed out that around 80
to 85 per cent of Assyrians are supporters of the Assyrian
Democratic Movement.
There is the Assyrian National Organization
(ANO) (Al-Hezb al-Watani al-Ashuree in Arabic) which is based
Dohuk. The ANO's mandate is to promote a unified democratic Iraq
and to preserve its territorial integrity. Although the
organization has not stated so publicly, the ANO is believed to be
close to the current régime in Baghdad. The other
organization is called the Assyrian-Chaldean Socialist
Oraganization (ACSO) (Itihad Ashur-Kaldu al Hijna in Arabic). It is
based in the area of Irbil where it promotes socialist values
through the establishment of regional parliamentarism.
The president did not have information on a
group called "Malko". He had information on an Assyrian political
figure called Malik who was close to the French colonial power
during the 1920 and 30s. Malik was promoting the creation of an
Assyrian homeland within the territory occupied by the French
colonial power. The project failed.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is
not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any
particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
President, Assyrian Academic Society of
Canada, Toronto. 30 September 1998. Telephone interview.
Additional Sources Consulted
Arabies [Paris]. January 1989 -
1998. Monthly.
Arab Law Quarterly [London].
1993 - 1998. Quarterly.
Arab Studies Quarterly [Lake
Forest, Ill.]. 1995 - 1998. Quarterly.
Dialogue [London]. October 1993
- 1998. Monthly.
Resource Centre Country Files: Iraq.
Jane's Intelligence Review.
Monthly. 1997-1998.
The Middle East [London].
November 1995 - 1998. Monthly.
Middle East International
[London]. January 1995 - 1998. Bi-weekly.
Middle East Report
[Washington]. September 1995 - 1997. Bi-monthly.
Monde Arabe Maghreb-Machrek
[Paris]. January 1995 - 1998. Quarterly.
News From Middle East Watch
[New York]. 1996 - 1998.
Pointer. a newsletter published
by the Jane's Group, London.
Electronic sources: IRB databases,
Global Newsbank, LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet, REFWORLD, WNC.